Blogs from Ourika Valley, Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz, Morocco, Africa - page 3

Just one word to describe what we saw and experience during 3 days and 2 nights: IMPRESSIVE. I did not have any preconceived idea of what the desert would be like, but I never thought the landscape would amaze me so much. I did not consider myself a desert-lover person before, but this trip totally changed my mind! We went into a tour with 10 more people- total strangers which after a few hours in the mini.bus and the shared ccouscous during the stops become fellow travellers. Real nice and varied group- there were actually people from the 5 continents! The route was Atlas Valley- Kasbashs tour- Dades Valley and Gorge- Todra Gorge- Merzouga-Dunes-camel ride- back to Marrakech. Quite long drives, to be honest, with a crazy driver speeding in the winding roads of the ... read more

From Fes, we had a very long drive to Marrakech through the stunning scenery of the middle Atlas mountains. We explored Marrakech with its many souks, pretty Bahia palace and amazingly chaotic Djemaa el Fna square, before heading out of the city to the Ourika Valley. We drove up the valley to the foothills of the High Atlas mountains, stopping in a Berber village. We visited the house of one of the villagers, drinking some traditional mint tea (rather too sweet for our liking!) before heading further up the valley for some amazing views.... read more

Today we headed south for a day trip to Oukaimeden which is a ski area in the High Atlas Mountains. It was a nice drive up the mountains and we saw some mud house villages. When we got to the ski area there was only snow high up, but the chair lift was working. It was a neat ride way up the mountain to 10,700 feet. It was hard to breathe. Lots of people were trying to ski and toboggan. I had a go at tobogganing but the snow was very bumpy and I kept falling off. The views were brilliant across to Djebel Toubkal which is about 14,000 feet! In the evening we went into our local village and ate a tajine while watching the Arsenal - Liverpool match. The locals were very enthusiastic!... read more

Though Marrakech was entertaining, after a few days I was ready to wind off of the well-beaten tourist path and delve a little further into the less frequented parts of the country. I intended to go to the Cascades d´Ouzoud, waterfalls a few hours bus ride outside of Marrakech. I decided to take public transportation, which involved taking a bus to a small town, Azilal, and then a shared taxi (7 people smashed into a small, puttery, yellow Mercedes) the rest of the way. The bus ride ended up taking four hours, and at that point I thought that it was too late to wait for a taxi to fill up to take me there and try to find a hotel before dark. I searched out a hotel in Azilal, and found a very cheap place ... read more